Graduate student captain honored as New England's Most Outstanding Player by The New England Football Writers Association
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The New England Football Writers Association (NEFWA) has selected UMass Dartmouth graduate student quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos as the 2024 Harry Agganis/Harold Zimman Award winner, which is presented to the most outstanding player in New England across all divisions. It marks the second honor of the season for Aviles-Santos from the NEFWA, earning DII/DIII All-New England Team recognition for the second time in his career last week.
It is a historic honor for Aviles-Santos, who becomes just the second Division III player in the 58-year history of the award to be named. Additionally, he is the first Division III player recognized since Tim Whelan was honored in 1976 from Tufts University. In the awards history, Aviles-Santos is not only one of just two DIII players honored, but there have only been two Division II players recognized with the remaining honorees from Division I – including former NFL great and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Doug Flutie.
Aviles-Santos, a quarterback and captain from Cumberland, R.I., threw for 2,833 yards during the 2024 campaign. In 11 contests, he went 212-of-328 in completions with just five interceptions for a 64.6 percentage. Aviles-Santos – who was a three-time MASCAC Offensive Player of the Week this season – threw for 42 touchdowns, including a long of 73, with an average of 257.5 yards per game.
The three-time MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year and a three-time All-MASCAC First Team honoree, Aviles-Santos threw at least two touchdowns in all 11 games this season, including a season-high six for 342 yards in a win over Worcester State. Additionally, he rushed for 239 yards on 36 carries with one touchdown in 2024.
On the season, he finished first among all MASCAC quarterbacks in passing touchdowns, passing yards, passing yards per game, points responsible for (260) and points responsible for per game (23.6). He also ranks fourth in Division III in passing TD's and is fifth in points responsible for per game and sixth in points responsible for.
In addition to the Agganis-Zimman Award and his All-New England Team nod, Aviles-Santos was the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year – becoming the only player in conference history to earn the award three times and in consecutive years. He was named to the All-MASCAC First Team Offense – also for the third time in his career, while posting three conference Offensive Player of the Week honors, a D3football.com Team of the Week nod in week four and the NEFWA Gold Helmet recipient in week seven.
Aviles-Santos has had a record-breaking season as a senior in 2023, eclipsing four major marks as the starter in all 10 contests. A captain, he completed 156 of 276 passes (56.5%), throwing for 2,365 yards and 21 touchdowns with nine interceptions. In addition to his outstanding arm, Aviles-Santos also ranked third on the Corsairs squad in rushing, carrying the ball 49 times for 222 yards with two touchdowns.
Aviles-Santos became the Corsairs all-time career leader in both passing yards and passing touchdowns in the season-opening, 57-6 win at Nichols. Throwing for four touchdowns, he surpassed Cory Burnham '16, while his 282 passing yards against the Bison moved him past Stephen Gacioch '21 for the all-time record. Burnham recorded 53 touchdowns in his career, while Gacioch held the previous record of 5,382 yards.
The Corsairs quarterback went on to break the record for passing completions on September 30 at WestConn, eclipsing Burnham's mark of 432, while eclipsing the passing attempts mark of 811, previously held by Burnham, in a win at Westfield State. For his efforts, he earned MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year recognition and was an All-MASCAC First Team honoree once more.
In 2022, Aviles-Santos completed 219 of 362 passes (60.5), throwing for 3,189 yards and 28 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. He also broke the UMass Dartmouth single-season records for passing yards, TD's, completion percentage, passing yards per game, average yards per pass and total offense. At season's end, Aviles-Santos was named the NEFWA Season Gold Helmet Award winner, tabbed to the D3football.com All-Region 1 First Team, and was the Joe Zabilski Award recipient from the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.
As a rookie, Aviles-Santos was named the MASCAC Offensive Rookie of the Year, leading the MASCAC with 25 touchdown passes. He ranked third in the conference with 2,193 passing yards, leading the Corsairs with eight rushing scores. In 11 games, he went 148 of 269 with just four interceptions.
In his incredible career, Aviles-Santos played in 44 games, going 735-of-1,235 (59.5) with 10,580 career passing yards. He also threw for 116 touchdowns in that time, averaging 16.7 completions per game, 14.4 yards per completion and 240.45 passing yards per contest. Additionally, he has rushed 235 times for 949 yards with 14 touchdowns. Additionally, Aviles-Santos graduates as the program record holder in nine different career categories and countless season records.
UMass Dartmouth concluded its incredible season on Saturday, falling to Springfield College in the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round. It marked the first appearance in the second round for the program. The Corsairs went 10-1 overall in 2024, winning their third straight MASCAC title after an impressive 9-0 record.
All NEFWA major award winners and the All-New England Team selections will be honored at the upcoming NEFWA Captains & Awards Banquet, scheduled for Thursday, December 12, 2024. The event, being held at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center in Framingham, Mass., will feature a reception at 6pm, followed by the awards dinner at 7pm.